The district administration is mulling the extension of stringent lockdown restrictions to further parts of the capital city amid widespread concerns over the increasing incidence of COVID-19 with unknown sources of infection.
Thiruvananthapuram Mayor K. Sreekumar said that the restrictions that have been imposed in Chala and Palayam markets will be extended to Peroorkada and Kumarichantha markets following complaints of crowding in such places.
The identification of primary and secondary contacts of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) employee who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 remained a tall order, even while the district authorities on Sunday issued a detailed ‘route map’ that traces his movement during the last few weeks.
The 41-year-old patient, who hails from Manacaud, used to travel for work from his rented house in Thrikkanapuram. He also used to frequently travel to his house in Manacaud and wife’s house in Killipalam. Prior to developing symptoms on June 15, he is known to have taken part in his neighbour’s house-warmingand visited the SBI’s Kazhakuttom and Thumba branches.
Since he began to display symptoms including fatigue and cold, he has had an extensive travel history that included the East Fort branch of an internet service provider, Chala market, Chala branch of Indian Bank, shops in Aryasala, Killipalam, a private school in Vazhuthacaud to purchase his daughter’s textbooks, the Thirumala branch of the KSEB to pay his bill as well as the residence of a KWA employee in Puthenkotta to submit an application and also that of a VSSC junior engineer in the same locality. He has also made frequent visits to a Milma outlet in Poojappura.
‘Careless’
Terming ‘unfortunate and careless’ the lack of restraint shown by the patient since developing symptoms, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran urged the public to utilise online facilities as much as possible to minimise travel.
Despite maintaining that there was no cause to impose a total lockdown across the city, the Minster said that the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases with unknown sources of infection posed a complex scenario that is worrisome.
The city currently has eight containment zones. The route maps of the retired employee of LPSC who hails from Puthenpalam, near Vallakadavu, and the shop owner in Manacaud have also been released.